Definitions for eastern hemisphere

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word eastern hemisphere

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eastern hemisphere, orient(noun)

the hemisphere that includes Eurasia and Africa and Australia

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Eastern Hemisphere(Noun)

The hemisphere of the Earth to the east of the Greenwich Meridian (zero degree longitude) and west of 180 degrees longitude (approximately the International Date Line).

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Eastern Hemisphere

The Eastern Hemisphere is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes the Americas. In addition, it may be used in a cultural or geopolitical sense as a synonym for 'Old World'.
The line demarcating the eastern and western hemispheres is an arbitrary convention, unlike the equator which divides the northern and southern hemispheres. The Prime Meridian at 0° longitude and the Antimeridian, at 180° longitude are the conventionally accepted boundaries, since they divide eastern longitudes from western longitudes. This convention was established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference held in Washington, D.C. where the Standard Time concepts of Canadian railroad engineer Sir Sandford Fleming were adopted. Using this demarcation puts portions of western Europe, Africa and eastern Russia in the western hemisphere, thereby diluting its usefulness for cartography, as well as for geopolitical constructs, since all of Eurasia and Africa are typically included in the eastern hemisphere. Consequently, the meridians of 20°W and the diametrically opposed 160°E are often used, which includes all of the European and African mainlands, but also includes a small portion of northeast Greenland and excludes more of eastern Russia and Oceania. Prior to the global adoption of Standard Time, numerous Prime Meridians were decreed by various countries where time was defined by local noon.

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